The original series centered on mysterious host Mr. Roarke, who grants island visitors their fantasies for a price.

AceShowbiz –
Filmmaker Jeff Wadlow has been tapped to breathe new life into popular old series ‘Fantasy Island’ for a fresh feature film.

The show, which was pitched and produced by TV icon Aaron Spelling and created by Gene Levitt, was a huge hit when it ran on television for seven seasons from 1977 to 1984, and now the programme is being resurrected by bosses at Blumhouse and Sony Pictures, who have hired the ‘Truth or Dare’ director to add a scary flair to the big screen version.

Wadlow’s surprise hit horror film ‘Truth or Dare’, starring Lucy Hale and Tyler Posey, earned almost $93 million (£71 million) at the worldwide box office from a $5 million (£4 million) budget upon its release in April, and studio executives are hoping for similar success by recruiting the director for Fantasy Island.

The original series, which centred on mysterious host Mr. Roarke, who grants island visitors their fantasies for a price, has been remembered mostly for its cheesy elements, including the infamous “Ze plane! Ze plane!” lines at the beginning of every episode, but “Kick-Ass 2” director Jeff has been tasked with bringing out the best of the programme’s supernatural and dark themes. He will be writing the script with Chris Roach and Jillian Jacobs, his collaborators on “Truth or Dare”.

Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum serves as the producer for the “Fantasy Island” remake, with Wadlow and Couper Samuelson executive producing the project.

It’s the latest revamp for Blum and his Blumhouse colleagues – they are also gearing up to release a new instalment of the rebooted Halloween franchise in October, just in time for the original 1978 film’s 40th anniversary. Director John Carpenter and original leading lady Jamie Lee Curtis have re-teamed for the new Halloween, with Carpenter serving as composer and executive producer.